Posts Tagged ‘Al-Qaeda’

Newscast Media HOUSTON, Texas—The bombings at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi,
Kenya still have many questions unanswered, and several unsolved mysteries. It has
been almost two weeks since the attack and amazingly, not a single photograph of
any of the alleged terrorists has been displayed either in the print media, or electronic
media. This is the first time this journalist is writing an analysis of the obvious
observations regarding the operation that claimed over 100 innocent lives.

After the attack, the group that was immediately blamed was al-Shabaab. Before the
suspension of its Twitter account, al-Shabaab allegedly claimed to have the voices
of the terrorists on audio. CONTINUE TO FULL STORY>>

Newscast Media PARIS—Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will remain in power for many years, and the opposing Coalition delegation comes out empty-handed from a meeting with Hollande.

Assad can stay in power for many years because Russia, Iran and Hezbollah professional fighters are backing him, according to a French report that was handed to French president Francois Hollande at his request to evaluate and identify the French policy in the region for the coming stage.

The French report asserted that the fragmentation of the Syrian Opposition factions and militant groups strengthened the Syrian president and drove the western countries to halt arming the opposition militants.

The report further stressed the sterility of the Western plan to arm the opposition militants without granting the extremists any access to the sent ammunition as al-Nusra Front fighters sequestrated a large quantity of the Arab and Western ammunition sent to the Free Syrian Army after clashes between the two parties. In a related context, the Syrian Coalition delegation that met the French president Fracois Hollande announced that France had abandoned all its pledges and promises to arm the militant groups. An opposing Syrian figure emphasized the complete failure of the Syrian Coalition to execute its main missions.

“The Coalition failed to carry out its main tasks which are obtaining weapons and eliminating al-Qaeda,” he said.

The opposing figure revealed that the Coalition is facing financial problems since the countries that support the Syrian opposition started to fund specific opposing figures, instead of funding the decomposed Coalition whose members are competing for the financial gains.

A number of opposition Figures reported that al-Nusra Front fighters receive large financial support, while some militant groups are unable to pay the salaries of their gunmen.

Newscast Media WASHINGTON—The United States will meet the Taliban in the Qatari capital of Doha for a peace process in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

“The U.S. will have its first formal meeting with the Taliban, and indeed first meeting with the Taliban for several years, in a couple of days in Doha,” a senior administration official told reporters via conference call.

The meeting comes at a time when the Afghan government was taking the lead in military operations across the country on Tuesday and the Taliban was opening a political office in Doha.

The officials joining the conference call said the U.S.-Taliban meeting is expected to be followed by another one within days between the Taliban and the Afghan High Peace Council, a 70-member body set up by the government in the summer of 2010 to initiate peace talks with the Taliban.

“I think that given the level of distrust among Afghans, it’s going to be a slow process to get that dialogue, that intra-Afghan dialogue moving,” one official said. “And the United States will encourage and help facilitate that.”

The officials played down expectations of the first U.S.- Taliban meeting, defining it as one for exchanging agendas rather than engaging in any “substantive, detailed” discussion.

“We’ll tell them what we want to talk about; they’ll tell us what they want to talk about; and we’ll both then adjourn and consult on next steps, and then have another meeting in a week or two later,” one official said.

The officials said Washington will raise the issue of the Taliban cutting ties with al-Qaida, urge the Taliban to “talk seriously” to the Afghan government and seek the return of Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. Army sergeant held prisoner by the Taliban for the past four years.

The Taliban will issue statements in Doha later Tuesday to declare its opposition to the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries and its support for an Afghan peace process, according to the officials.
“These are two statements which we’ve long called for and together, they fulfill the requirements for the Taliban to open an office, a political office, in Doha for the purposes of negotiation with the Afghan government,” one official said.

The American and NATO troops transferred the control of 95 remaining districts to Afghan security forces in a ceremony on Tuesday, completing a transition process that started in 2011 and paving the way for a full withdrawal of coalition forces by the end of 2014 following a nearly 12-year bloody war against the Taliban.

Newscast Media WASHINGTON—Two former U.S. diplomats are reporting that whistleblowers are getting ready to reveal information that might turn the simmering Benghazi scandal into an explosive fiasco for both former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Barack Obama.

According to a PJ Media report, the whistleblowers who are colleagues of the ex-diplomats are now securing lawyers because the areas in which they work aren’t fully covered by the Whistleblower law.

PJ Media also noted that while the information “is largely hearsay…the two diplomats sounded quite credible. One of them was in a position of responsibility in a dangerous area of Iraq in 2004.”

The revelations according to the diplomats will focus on Ambassador Chris Stevens’ real purpose in Benghazi. Ambassador Stevens was killed during a controversial attack on the U.S. consulate on September 11 in Benghazi last year.

“Stevens’ mission in Benghazi, they will say, was to buy back Stinger missiles from al-Qaeda groups issued to them by the State Department, not by the CIA. Such a mission would usually be a CIA effort, but the intelligence agency had opposed the idea because of the high risk involved in arming ‘insurgents’ with powerful weapons that endanger civilian aircraft,” said the report.

However, it continued: “Hillary Clinton still wanted to proceed because, in part, as one of the diplomats said, she wanted ‘to overthrow Gaddafi on the cheap.’” Muammar Gaddafi, the former Libyan leader, was allegedly killed on October 20, 2011.

But according to the report, Clinton’s decision on Gaddafi allegedly “left Stevens in the position of having to clean up the scandalous enterprise when it became clear that the ‘insurgents’ actually were al-Qaeda – indeed, in the view of one of the diplomats, the same group that attacked the consulate and ended up killing Stevens.”

The whistleblowers are also expected to reveal how General Carter Ham, then leader of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) was pressured not to act to protect jeopardized U.S. personnel in Libya.

“Military contacts of the diplomats tell them that AFRICOM had Special Ops ‘assets in place that could have come to the aid of the Benghazi consulate immediately (not in six hours),’” said the report.

“Ham was told by the White House not to send the aid to the trapped men, but Ham decided to disobey and did so anyway, whereupon the White House ‘called his deputy and had the deputy threaten to relieve Ham of his command.’”

Newscast Media ANKARA, Turkey—While the US has been attempting to befriend Al-Qaeda through the use of aid to help fight wars in the Middle East, Al-Qaeda cells are showing the U.S. how little they think of this country and were planning to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Turkey as a thank-you gift for aid that has been extended to them to convince them to fight against their fellow muslims.

Despite Al-Qaeda links to the Chris Stevens murder in Libya and to the Syrian rebels, and now a plot to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Turkey, the Obama administration doesn’t seem to understand that Al-Qaeda will never be friends of the West regardless of how much they are enticed into a partnership to help fight proxy wars.

Newscast Media DAMASCUS—Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the United States and the United Kingdom of supporting terrorism in his country. In an interview with The Sunday Times published on Sunday, Assad said he was also unhappy with the United Nations for overestimating the death toll in the conflict at 70,000 in a bid to justify outside intervention.

Assad criticized the U.S. and Britain for sending financial and other non-lethal aid to the opposition. He said he was ready for dialogue with armed rebels and militants, but only if they surrendered their weapons.

“We are ready to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms. We are not going to deal with terrorists who are determined to carry weapons to terrorize people, to kill civilians, to attack public places or private enterprise and to destroy the country,” Assad told the Sunday Times. “We fight terrorism.”

“This (British) government is acting in a naive, confused and unrealistic manner,” he said of Prime Minister David Cameron’s conservative leadership, for trying to end an EU arms embargo so that the rebels could be supplied with weapons.

“We do not expect an arsonist to be a firefighter,” he said, dismissing a suggestion that Britain could help to resolve the conflict.

“If they want to play a role they have to change this, they have to act in a more reasonable and responsible way.”

The two countries have not had contact for a long time, he said. Offering a message to “anyone who is talking about the Syrian people,” he said, “only Syrian people can tell the president to stay or leave, come or go, no one else.”

Lebanese-British reporter Hala Jaber, who also interviewed Assad in 2011, spoke this time to the president in Damascus. Jaber said Assad, who was softly spoken throughout the sit-down interview, adopted a conciliatory tone when discussing future negotiations.

“We are ready to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms,” he declared. “We are not going to deal with terrorists who are determined to carry weapons, to terrorize people, to kill civilians, to attack public places or private enterprise and to destroy the country.”

The interview was timed to coincide with Kerry’s first foreign tour as secretary of state. Kerry met Syrian rebels in Rome last Thursday and announced that $60 million of “non-lethal” U.S. aid would go directly to them for the first time.

“The intelligence, communication and financial assistance being provided is very lethal,” Assad countered, pointing out that “non-lethal” technology had been used to deadly effect in the 9/11 attacks.

William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, is expected to announce a package of British assistance this week.

“The British government wants to send military aid to moderate groups in Syria, knowing all too well that such moderate groups do not exist in Syria,” Assad said.

“We all know that we are now fighting Al-Qaeda, or Jabhat al-Nusra, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, and other groups of people indoctrinated with extreme ideologies.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Damascus says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings. Western states have been calling for Assad to step down. However, Russia and China are strongly opposed to the Western drive to oust Assad.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed militants are foreign nationals, mostly from Egypt, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia.http://newscastmedia.com/bashar-assad.htm

Newscast Media ROME—Pope Benedict XVI has made an urgent appeal to civil and political authorities to work for peace. The Pope’s heartfelt cry came on Monday during his annual address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See.

Speaking to representatives of the 179 States that currently have full diplomatic relations with the Vatican, as well as members of numerous international organizations such as the EU, the Order of Malta and the PLO, Pope Benedict emphasized that world leaders have a grave responsibility to work for peace. They are the first – he said – called to resolve the numerous conflicts causing bloodshed in our human family.

The Pope went on to list urgent areas of concern starting with Syria which he described as being “torn apart by endless slaughter and the scene of dreadful suffering among its civilian population”.

“I renew my appeal for a ceasefire” – the Pope said – “and for the inauguration as quickly as possible of a constructive dialogue aimed at putting an end to a conflict which will know no victors but only vanquished if it continues, leaving behind it nothing but a field of ruins”.

Staying with the peacemaking theme, the Holy Father had strong words of preoccupation for the Holy Land where – he said – Israelis and Palestinians must “commit themselves to peaceful coexistence within the framework of two sovereign states”.

Benedict went on to mention Iraq, Lebanon, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the DRC, Mali, the Central African Republic and Nigeria which – he observed – is regularly the scene of terrorist attacks which reap victims above all among the Christian faithful
gathered in prayer.

The Pope also condemned “religious fanaticism” which he said is a falsification of religion itself since religion aims at reconciling men and women with God.

Looking also at signs of promise around the globe, the Pope said that peace building always comes about by the protection of human beings and their fundamental rights. Foremost among these – he stressed – “is respect for human life at every stage”, and in this regard he expressed gratification for a Council of Europe resolution calling for the prohibition of euthanasia.

Newscast Media DAMASCUS—Worried about the current situation of the Syrian opposition, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of efforts by extremists to “hijack” the so-called Syria revolution.

“There are disturbing reports of extremists going into Syria attempting to take over what has been a legitimate revolution against an oppressive regime for their own purposes,” Clinton said during a visit to Croatia on Wednesday.

The opposition should “strongly resist the efforts by the extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution”.

“We are working very hard with many different elements of opposition inside and outside Syria,” Clinton told reporters.

She said Washington’s efforts “are focused on pressuring the regime through increasing and tightening sanctions, meeting the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people who are displaced, assisting those countries that they seek refuge in, and helping the opposition unite behind a shared, effective strategy that can resist the regime’s violence and begin to provide for a political transition.”

The top US official added that the opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Council (SNC) “can no be longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition.”

“They can be part of the opposition, but the opposition must include people from inside Syria and others.”

She called for an opposition “leadership structure” to ensure that all Syrians are represented and protected, adding: “There has to be a representation of those who are on the front line fighting and dying today.”

“It is not a secret that many inside Syria are worried about what comes next. They have no love lost for the Assad regime, but they worry, rightly so, about the future,” Clinton said.

“And so there needs to be an opposition that can speak to every segment and every geographic part of Syria.”

Newscast Media WASHINGTON, D.C—The Iran-Contra scandal that happened under Ronald Reagan facilitated the illegal sale of weapons to Iran covertly. It became one of the biggest political scandals since the inception of the nation, after the operation turned into an arms-for-hostages exchange undertaking.

Weapons abandoned by Gaddafi were under surveillance in Libya at all times, since the US knew they could fall in the hands of the bad guys if left unmonitored. The CIA had an operation there because it was reported that former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods was at the CIA annex about an hour away from where Chris Stevens came under attack.

A few months before the attack, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) had requested more weapons because it had come under heavy fire in Aleppo and was forced to retreat. France, that had previously supported rebels under Sarkozy, reversed itself and refused to send any more weapons to the Syrian rebels.

“America and Europe just talk, talk, talk, but no one helps,” said Abu Mohammad, an FSA commander in Aleppo who supplies his men with the homemade grenades. “There have been promises from other countries to provide us with arms, but no one has helped us,” reported the Christian Science Monitor.

As we saw in Pt.2 there were fighters identified as Libyans in Syria, and Chris Stevens was the bridge between the US and the opposition. The FSA’s requests for weapons were finally responded to and there is indication that arrangements were being made to ship the weapons to Syria via Turkey. Intending to funnel weapons only to what the US perceived as the “good guys” namely the Free Syrian Army, word must have inadvertently reached the “bad guys” namely al-Qaeda, that they had been left out of the party. Al-Qaeda did not take this too kindly. They had spilled their blood for the sake of the West, and were willing to risk their lives in Syria, and wondered, “Is this how the West pays us back, by snubbing us?”

Benghazi would be the place they got revenge. We know this because the attack had been pre-planned months ahead of time. On September 11, witnesses saw about 150 bearded armed men setting up roadblocks, and sealing off street leading to the US Consulate in Benghazi. Interestingly enough, no US embassy in Benghazi is listed on the list of US embassies, because there is only one US embassy in Libya, and it is in Tripoli. Nevertheless, the trucks of the gunmen bore the logo of Ansar al-Shariah, a powerful local group of Islamist militants, according to the Miami Herald.

The only logical reason al-Qaeda would get involved in such an operation points to taking Chris Stevens hostage, and then making a deal similar to the Iran-Contra deal, by swapping Chris Stevens in exchange for a portion of the weapons that was supposed to be delivered to FSA. According to FOX News, CIA chain of command told the CIA operators twice to “stand down” rather than help the ambassador’s team when shots were heard at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Benghazi on Sept. 11. There were also two drones with live video feeds of the attacks.

U.S. officials argue that there was a period of several hours when the fighting stopped before the mortars were fired at the annex, leading officials to believe the attack was over. Bingo! The only reason there was a period of several hours when fighting stopped, also points to a negotiation taking place, between the gunmen who were holding Stevens hostage and those who had access to the intel being fed to them by the military surveillance drones.

For McCain to mention there was a cover-up, is as a result of putting two and two together based on what happened in the Iran-Contra deal, and most recently the Fast and Furious scandal when the government sold weapons to Mexican drug lords covertly. It would therefore make sense to a military man like McCain to suspect the same was happening in the Stevens case, which would be an enormous scandal that not even the media could protect Obama from.

It was reported that at around 4am, the compound’s building in which Stevens had taken refuge, was hit by mortar fire which killed agents Doherty and Woods. Stevens was not seen by the security team again until his body was delivered to the airport. Officials said, and they still do know how he reached the Libyan hospital where attempts were made to revive him. He obviously did not grow wings, so we can deduce that it was al-Qaeda that dropped his body off at the hospital after a possible failure to secure a weapons deal from the cache that was en route to Syria.

Finally, to conclude this three-part series, we have to place the weapons in Syria. The Russians knew all along that weapons were headed to Syria to be used against Assad. In order to protect their interests in Syria, the Russians have been providing weapons to the Syrian government. Ruslan Pukhov, the Russian defense analyst and director of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said, “Russia doesn’t see any problems selling weapons to Syria if the CIA and French and British secret services are shipping military hardware via Turkey to the rebels, including the Islamists,” in this video interview with the BBC.

Further evidence reveals that there was squabbling between al-Qaeda and FSA in regard to who got what weapons. FOX News has evidence that a Libyan-flagged vessel reportedly carrying weapons named Al Entisar, which means “The Victory,” was received in the Turkish port of Iskenderun — 35 miles from the Syrian border — on Sept. 6, just five days before Ambassador Chris Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith and former Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed during an extended assault by more than 100 Islamist militants.

Quoting The Times of London, Syria News Agency verified that over 400 tons of cargo included “SAM-7 surface-to-air anti-craft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).” Abu Mohammad, who told The Times that he “helped to move the shipment from warehouses to the border” said “this is the largest single delivery of assistance” the gunmen have so far received.

We have determined why Stevens was sent to Libya, and have been able to place both the Libyan rebels and the cache of weapons in Syria. John McCain’s theory is the only legitimate one of all four, since there has been silence in this administration as to what really happened and why it happened.

Tying all the loose ends together, it is safe to say, based on the available evidence, Chris Stevens was an unintended victim of extortion who was taken hostage by the very people he helped overthrow Gaddafi. The deal went wrong after the militant al-Qaeda could not reach a consensus with the person in charge of the negotiations. The cover-up benefits the parties who gave the order to stand down, since they do not have to take responsibility or stand trial for the lives that were lost.

Should Romney win the election, he will have access to all the intel, and in 2016 if Hillary Clinton attempts to re-run for the presidency, this currently-sealed information could be used as a trump card by the GOP, to “swift boat” her.

Newscast Media WASHINGTON, D.C—”I don’t know if it’s either a cover-up or the worst kind of incompetence, which doesn’t qualify the president as commander in chief,” John McCain said on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, as published by CBS News in this article.

While some might think McCain is on a “wild goose chase”, there seems to be a method to his madness. We should therefore consider and explore the cover-up as the fourth theory.

The question this journalist must now confront is, “What is the cover-up?”

During the civil war that eventually led to the overthrow of Libya’s Col. Gaddafi, it was reported that his immense cache of weapons that he had accumulated over decades went missing.

“All of Libya is a grand arms bazaar,” said Mr. Peter Bouckaert, who said it appeared that SA-14 and SA-7 missiles had also been taken.

Speaking to the BBC from Tripoli, Mr. Bouckaert said the rebels had no use for SAMs anymore, given that there was no longer a threat from the air, but that they were still going missing – and were often the first to go.

After Gaddafi was overthrown, these same rebels began occupying Benghazi, and we saw earlier that Chris Stevens was sent as a liaison to the Libyan opposition. We’ve also determined, based on the rebel commander Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi’s interview, that al-Qaeda was among the opposition. We have therefore established a link between al-Qaeda and Chris Stevens the “liaison” as described by Hillary. We should now take this a step further and ask, “How would the rebels and the US benefit from each other, since Stevens was sent to create a bridge between the two?”

In order to answer that question, we also have to also answer the question above posed to the BBC by Mr. Peter Bouckaert, who asked, “Why are these weapons (SA-14 and SA-7 missiles) being sought out? The answer will help us hit two birds with one stone.

The first question has to do with how the US would benefit from creating a bridge between Stevens and opposition, and the answer is, they (the opposition) were the ones who would be used as pawns to fight the war in Syria in exchange for the US helping remove Gaddafi—Without outside intervention, the rebels could not do it by themselves.

The second question by Mr. Bouckart as to why the SA-14 and SA-7 missiles were being sought out, and where the cache of weapons had disappeared, also point to Syria. Those are the same weapons that would be used to bring down Assad’s jets and helicopters, and would also be used to destroy tanks.

Yet in order to fully solve this puzzle, we have to be able to place the Libyan opposition and al-Qaeda in Syria. After all, we have just determined that the weapons cache would be used in Syria against Assad, by these very same rebels. After we place the rebels in Syria, we also have to place the weapons that disappeared, in Syria.

Ruth Sherlock of The Telegraph, was on the ground in Idlib province in Syria, and according to her, when she asked the leader of the Free Syria Army (FSA) who the fighters were in Syria, he identified them as Libyans.

“Libyans”, muttered the rebel Free Syria Army leader under his breath, shooting the men a dirty look. “We don’t want these extremist people here. Look at them; we didn’t have this style in Syria – who is this? Bin Laden?” The Telegraph reported in this article.

Newscast Media HOUSTON, Texas—Veteran Middle East reporter Lara Logan, who works for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” accused the U.S. government of propagating a “major lie” about terrorism, in her keynote address at Tuesday’s Better Government Association annual luncheon. The lie, Logan said, is that the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists have softened in recent years.

There has been “a narrative coming out of Washington over the last few years,” Logan claimed, “driven by Pakistani lobbying money and by Taliban apologists,” that “the Taliban today is so unlike the Taliban of 2001. They are just a more moderate, gentler, kinder, Taliban that just can’t wait to see women in the workplace, occupy an equal role in society … it’s such nonsense.”

Logan was speaking about a Sept. 30 segment she reported on for “60 Minutes” about “insider attacks” killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Watch:

Logan also criticized the media who cover terrorism for not paying attention to what the terrorists say about the United States.

“Our way of life is under attack. And if you think that is government propaganda, if you think that’s nonsense, if you think that’s war-mongering, you’re not listening to what the people who are fighting you say about this fight,” Logan said emphatically.

“In your arrogance, you think you write the script, but you don’t. There’s two sides and we don’t dictate the terms.”

Toward the end of her speech, Logan directed more of her criticism directly at the Obama administration.
“I can’t stand that there’s a major lie being propagated about the real situation. I don’t care who’s in power. I don’t care who’s behind it,” she said.

She also criticized the Obama administration for its misleading statements about the terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the deaths of Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

“When I look at what’s going on in Libya, there’s a big song and dance about whether this was a terrorist attack or a protest and you just want to scream, for God’s sake, are you kidding me?”

Newscast Media WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last week there was indication from the State Department that the terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) could be removed from the list of terrorist organizations, but no justification was given to explain such a move. MKO took refuge in Iraq and under the support of Saddam Hussein, fought the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s.

“I am not in a position to confirm the contents of this, because it’s classified, but we anticipate being able to make a public announcement about it sometime before October 1,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told the press. Others suspect that the reason the US may want to remove MKO from the list is to destabilize the region by using the group to fight proxy wars the way al-Qaeda is being used in the Middle East.

“The move indicates the United States’ blatant support for extremist and terrorist groups like the MKO and Al Qaeda-affiliated organizations, which is aimed at stirring tension among Muslims,” Khalid Abdul Wahab al-Mala who is also the head of the Council of Iraqi Scholars in Southern Iraq told Fars News Agency.

“The US wants to dominate the region, steal its assets and spark war and religious and sectarian conflicts in the region,” Mala added.

It is believed that Hillary Clinton plans to run for president in 2016, therefore it will be interesting to see what her decision will be between now and October 1, given the recent deaths of American diplomats in Libya at the hands of Islamist terrorists. The consequences of her decision will certainly have an impact on the way she is judged in the next four years, should she decide to run for president.

Newscast Media WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that it has imposed sanctions on Syria’s state-run oil company for selling 33,000 metric tons of gasoline to Iran in April. The State Department said this kind of trade allows Iran to continue developing its nuclear program while providing the Syrian government with resources to oppress its own people.

“The United States remains deeply concerned about the close ties shared by the Iranian and Syrian regimes and is committed to using every tool available to prevent regional destabilization,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement August 10.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is on her way to Turkey for talks with Turkish leaders and Syrian opposition activists to coordinate efforts to oust the regime of Bashar al-Assad and start planning to help Syria after Assad falls, according to the article on the State Department’s Web site.

Meanwhile, the sanctions on Hezbollah were placed because the U.S. believes it is providing training, advice and “extensive logistical support” to the Assad regime. According to a Wall Street Journal, the U.S. said Hezbollah has been working closely with Iran, Mr. Assad’s other close supporter and the main U.S. nemesis in the region.

“I think it is safe to say that Hezbollah is playing a critical role in advising the Syrian government and training its personnel in how to prosecute a counterinsurgency,” Daniel Benjamin, the U.S. State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said Friday. “At this point…we’re satisfied by our assessment that the group is playing an absolutely integral role in helping the Assad regime try to put down this popular movement.”

Analysts in the region argue that the U.S. is overstating Hezbollah’s role in Syria, and say the group has chosen to limit its support for Mr. Assad—endorsing Syria’s regime but not publicly taking up arms to defend it.

“Although the final decision hasn’t been made, Hezbollah has come to realize that it doesn’t serve its core objectives to get involved in Syria and Iran’s conflict,” said Omar Nashabi, a columnist for the Al-Akbar newspaper, which leans toward supporting Hezbollah. The Reuters full article can be read here.

In other reports, the rebel gangs in Aleppo are asking for more weapons from the West, because they are “slowly losing the battle” against Assad. Syrian rebels were running low on ammunition and guns Friday and appealed for international help as government forces tried to consolidate their control over Aleppo, the country’s largest city and a deadly battleground in recent weeks.

“The warplanes and helicopters are killing us, they’re up there in the sky 15 hours a day,” said Mohammad al-Hassan, an activist in Aleppo’s main rebel stronghold of Salaheddine. “I don’t know how long this situation can be sustained,” the New York Times reported in this article.

Regardless of whether the sanctions against Hezbollah will have any effect, the group has now been dragged into the crisis in Syria, and it will be interesting to see what Hezbollah’s reaction, covert or overt, will be in the weeks ahead.http://www.newscastmedia.com/syria-sanctions.htm